by River Ramsey
“There is honor in war,” said Ares, his gaze darkening. “The destruction of souls for the purpose of defying Thanos himself… that wasn’t what I fought for. Cronus changed, and not for the better.”
It was hard for me to imagine how something that was already the epitome of evil could get worse, but I’d take his word for it. All I could do was watch Hades, even though he should have been the least of my concerns. Last night was one thing, but I was more worried about the feelings I had for him that had nothing to do with lust—or hatred.
“Why are you telling us this?” Fenrir demanded. “Even if it’s true and the whole world knows what Cronus did, the Council will never accept your return. Whatever Cronus said you did, the truth you just told us is a thousand times worse.”
“So it is,” said Ares. “But I’m not interested in redemption. This realm is my punishment, but it is also my purpose, and I would refuse to abandon it even if I had the chance. However, I won’t allow my old friend to escape his punishment forever.”
“What can we do?” Loki asked nervously.
“Hades is the heir apparent to the Underworld,” said Ares. “Only he can stop his father. Only he can restore the order of nature.”
Hades frowned. “How exactly do you figure that?”
“You play with the dark magic,” Ares said knowingly. “It runs through your veins like poison, tainting your very soul. And it clings to my daughter as well.”
I froze as he spoke, my heart pounding in my chest. So he knew Hades had brought me back. Why hadn’t he said anything before?”
“Bringing back a person who’s just died is one thing,” said Hades. “Even my father couldn’t restore the souls he’d destroyed.”
“That is true, but there is no hope of restoring what is lost,” said Ares. “Only ensuring that your father meets the same end. Absolute destruction is the only way, and I fear that even Thanos is not powerful enough to hold him with all the souls he has consumed.”
“You’re saying even if we found a way to kill him, he’d return?” Fenrir asked in disbelief.
“Precisely,” Ares said, shifting his focus back to Hades. “As long as he retains the souls. But in order to do what you did, you must be more powerful than even your father was at your age. That makes you the only person in this universe capable of destroying him once and for all.”
For a few seconds, Hades didn’t respond. Neither he nor Ares blinked and as they stared each other down, I couldn’t help but fear it was going to come to blows. That wasn’t a fight anyone was going to come away from unscathed.
I shouldn’t have cared about either of them, but I did. I cared so much my heart ached.
How had it taken me this long to see it?
“You planned this, didn’t you?” Hades finally asked, his gaze fixed on Ares. “That’s why you brought us here.”
“No,” said Ares. “Fate brought you here. I only wished to warn my daughter. To pull her into this realm before Cronus could destroy the one you come from, but when I realized who you were, and the bond that exists between you all, I realized that I was merely playing a role in a much greater plan.”
As his words sank in, my mind railed against them. He’d brought me here to protect me? That alone was hard enough to process, let alone the implication that the world we came from didn’t have long if Cronus got his way. If Ares was right.
“What do we have to do with it?” asked Loki.
“A cord of five strands is stronger than one,” Ares answered. “Whenever souls are bound, it is always for a greater purpose. Fate has chosen you all for this moment, and even I am powerless to stop it.”
He cast me a forlorn glance that made the ache in my chest even deeper. I didn’t understand it, but that didn’t make it any easier to bear.
“Wait,” I said suddenly. “Five. You’re talking about the other consort you mentioned, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” said Ares. “I would be lying if I said I knew how all of this was meant to unfold, but souls bonded for a purpose must always work together. Otherwise, your mission is doomed to fail before it begins.” He looked over at Hades. “That is, should you choose to accept it.”
Hades held his stare, unblinking and seemingly unfazed. “I’ve been prepared to kill my father from the moment I was born,” he finally said, his voice rigid with some emotion—or lack thereof—I didn’t fully understand. “One way or another.”
Chapter 8
Fenrir
One conversation had changed everything. On the one hand, I was relieved to finally have answers to the questions that had bothered me ever since Cronus had first approached me and asked me to keep an eye on his son.
So much had changed since then, but in some ways, it felt like no time had passed at all.
My reality had shifted in more ways than one. I didn’t need to know the details of what had happened between Kore, Hades and Loki. Their mingled scents said enough.
Hades and I hadn’t spoken since Ares had taken us all into the castle and ordered a feast to be prepared for our journey back to the waking world. I knew he was pissed that I’d divulged as much as I had, but I had plenty of reason to be pissed with him, too.
Then there was Kore. Everything that had happened since Ares had helped me shift back into my human form seemed like a strange dream. I remembered it, but it was more like I’d been watching a dream than living it. That was always how it was when the wolf came out, but I already felt nostalgic for the closeness that I knew we couldn’t return to.
If we were going to get back, I’d have to push my feelings aside. There’d be time for talking about it later, and I knew if I didn’t come out and tell Kore how I felt—and that I was pretty sure I’d imprinted on her—we would only grow more distant. Still, we had been given marching orders from the god of war himself, and that had to come first.
To my amazement, the denizens of the Ether knew how to throw a party that rivaled even the great halls of the Aesir. There was a long table with Ares seated at the head and Kore at his side. The servants had prepared an array of surprisingly delicious food, and there was music flowing through the air. Definitely not what I’d expected for a place of banishment and ruin, but it seemed Ares had made the most out of his realm.
I was sitting next to Loki, who was closest to Kore’s left, with Hades on my other side. I was close enough to hear what little conversation passed between Kore and her father. She seemed even more aloof and dazed than she had before, and I could understand why. It was a lot to meet the man who’d given you half your DNA, and even more to have your whole worldview crumble as a result.
The merrymaking had a somber undercurrent that seemed to elude the other partygoers. The bellowing laughter of the orc who’d greeted us at the gate kept punctuating my thoughts, and by the time dinner had come to an end, I was relieved to get outside and have a moment to think.
The air in the Ether was unexpectedly crisp and clean. Probably something to do with the fact that there were no humans around.
It was dark by the time we made it outside, and while I waited for Ares to make the final arrangements to send us home through another portal, I found myself lost in the dunes ahead. The great ridges of sand and stone resembled the winding back of a dragon, coiling and snaking through the desert.
“Are you okay?”
I turned around at the soft cadence of Kore’s voice. She looked beautiful in the light robes Ares had given her to change into, though I doubted they’d make the journey back to our bodies.
“Fine. Just thinking.”
“About what?” she asked, wandering over to me.
“Which one of us is going to wake up first,” I lied, smirking. “There can only be one winner.”
Kore rolled her eyes. “You would still be thinking about that.”
“I take it you’re no longer interested in winning the Games.”
“Odin’s poor management skills have kind of taken a backseat,” she admitted, folding her arms.
I sn
orted. “It’s a lot to take in.”
“Tell me about it.”
I glanced down at her, mesmerized by the way the dull light from above danced through her hair. “How are you doing with all this? Ares especially.”
“I’m kind of just numb,” she answered, staring off into the distance. “I’ve wondered who my father was my whole life, and now that I know, I’m not really sure how to feel.”
“That’s understandable.”
She glanced up at me, her gaze troubled. “About the other night…”
“Don’t,” I said, realizing I wanted to go numb myself in some ways. “You don’t owe me an explanation.”
She frowned and I could tell she wanted to say more, but she finally gave up with a sigh. “It’s hard to believe none of this is real.”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, tilting her head.
“It’s just another plane of reality. In that sense, it’s as real as the one we come from.” I smirked. “Who knows? Maybe this is the real world and we’re going to wake up in a dream.”
She grimaced. “That’s too philosophical for my tastes. I’ll just stick with the most basic explanation.”
I laughed. “No argument there.”
“Kore, Fenrir. Get your asses up here. The portal’s open and I miss my bed,” Loki yelled from the top of the hill.
I sighed. “We’d better get going.”
“Yeah,” Kore agreed, following me up the sandy incline. By the time we reached the top, I saw that Loki was right. Another portal like the one we’d come through sat in the middle of the path. This one was a pale green hue, and it looked slightly less foreboding, but not by much.
Ares stood beside a hooded figure I could only assume was the mage who’d opened the portal. Knowing he’d had the ability to send us back this whole time was unsettling, to say the least, but I could understand. The pain in his voice when he’d spoken of sending her back had been plain as day to me, but I wasn’t sure if she recognized it or not.
“Are you ready?” Hades asked. I knew his question was directed at me as much as it was her, but I chose to pretend otherwise.
Kore nodded absently, going to stand before Ares. “Am I going to see you again?”
“I expect you’ll find a way if you want to,” he answered. “But your purpose is much greater than this world, my daughter.”
“You’re wrong,” she murmured. “I thought I could go up against Odin, but I’m not even cut out for that. I can’t do anything to stop Cronus.”
“Perhaps not alone,” Ares said, resting a hand on her shoulder. “But sometimes we only become the person we’re meant to be because we have to.”
Kore frowned up at him, clearly trying to parse through the cryptic words. He was just as bad as Odin.
“Let’s go, before anyone up there realizes something more is going on,” Hades said, always impatient.
“You go up ahead,” I told him, lingering behind to give Kore as much time with her father as I could. Then again, what were a few moments in comparison to a whole lifetime without each other?
Hades scowled, but he passed through the portal and Loki was quick to follow him. I turned back in time to see Ares take a chain off his neck and place it around Kore’s.
“What is this?” she asked, looking down at the blood red jewel set in some kind of metal that looked neither silver nor gold.
“A family heirloom of sorts,” he answered. “Should you ever wish to return to me, this jewel will be your key.”
I looked back at the portal as she stared at him in confusion and realized the light was dimmer than it had been moments earlier. “We should go back.”
It took her a moment to look over at me, but she nodded. “Yeah, we should. Goodbye, Ares.”
“For now,” he said, touching her cheek. I told myself it was just my imagination that the stone around her neck seemed to grow lighter, but stranger things had happened in this place. “Safe journeys.”
Ares paused, his gaze settling on me. “Take care of her, son of Fenris.”
It was the first time in so long I’d been addressed that way, and the contradicting pride and disdain it stirred within me were as confusing as they had been back then. “Always,” I said, putting a hand on Kore’s shoulder to lead her through. “Ready?”
She glanced back at Ares one last time and nodded, turning toward the looming portal. With a deep breath, she stepped through and I followed her.
Ares’ words the moment the others had come out were still at the forefront of my mind, and as I walked through the portal, I felt them carving themselves into my soul. I hadn’t understood what they meant at the time, but in the eternal instant I spent inside that timeless space between the Ether and reality, I understood perfectly.
“You are a product of two worlds, and in the end, you will have to choose one.”
As soon as the realization settled in, it fled me. So did everything else.
Chapter 9
Kore
I opened my eyes with a gasp and as the night air filled my lungs, it felt like coming back from the dead for the second time. Was this what it felt like to be born? The trauma of being ripped out of a transient state of being and thrust into a world that was cold and bright and relentlessly solid.
As I caught my breath, I was vaguely aware of a blanket being wrapped around my shoulders and someone talking to me. There was a flurry of chaos and I looked around, realizing I was back on the arena stage, surrounded by my classmates who’d taken the same elixir that I had.
Dionysus was still asleep on the cot beside me, and judging from the troubled look on his beautiful features, he was experiencing a strange world of his own.
It occurred to me as reality began to creep back in that I was the only one who was awake. Hades, Fenrir and Loki were still unconscious on the other side of the stage, and the sight of them here in the real world made me doubt everything that had just transpired.
Before I could fully process what was going on, I became aware of someone standing right beside me and jolted when I saw that it was Odin. I could tell from the look of displeasure in his eyes that he’d been hoping for an entirely different outcome. Any other outcome, really, but he was professional enough to keep his disdain to himself.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have our victor,” he said, grabbing my hand and thrusting it into the air for all to see. “The winner of the Games is Kore.”
The stunned audience erupted in applause and cries of celebration at the permission his words gave. For the first time since I’d come to this school, I was the center of attention for a non-malicious reason.
I couldn’t even respond properly. The lights were still too much, and I could hardly see anything more than the hazy blur of the crowd. My ears were still ringing, and if I lingered on my dismay for too long, I was sure I’d be sick all over the stage.
I turned back at the sound of a familiar voice and saw Hades sitting up from his cot. He pushed away the medics who tried to assist him, of course, and seemed to have a much easier time of standing than I did. Daphne and Fenrir were starting to stir as well, but everyone else was still out cold.
Hades’ gaze met mine and in that one silent moment, I knew everything that had happened in the Ether was real. Meeting my father, discovering the truth about his banishment, the night of passion I’d spent with Hades and Loki… Most of all, the plan we had agreed to undertake that now seemed all the more possible in the cold dawn of reality.
I was sure that losing to me was just about the last thing Hades had ever wanted to happen, but I couldn’t even enjoy the victory. Not when I never would have made it back without him and the others.
Maybe Ares was right. Maybe we needed each other more than we thought, and the connection between us ran deeper than any of us knew.
Everything that followed the Games happened in a blur. I was taken backstage along with the other newly awakened contestants and when a stagehand gave
me a bottle of water, I drained it in record time. It seemed I’d overcome my aversion after the whole drowning incident.
I wanted to go over to Hades, to confirm that he and I shared the same bizarre memories of the Ether, but I didn’t get the chance between the school photographer snapping photos and the medics asking me to count how many fingers they were holding up.
Just as I thought I was free from the circus, a familiar voice sent a shiver down my spine.
“Kore,” my mother cried, pushing her way through the crowd backstage. She looked as regal as ever, even in her panic. When she approached me, taking my face in her hands, I realized the golden wreath had been placed on my head without realizing it. It felt strangely heavy now that I was aware of it. “Darling, are you alright?”
For a long moment, all I could do was stare at her. Seeing Ares had somehow made me see her in a different light, even though I didn’t yet understand what it was. She seemed like the one who existed in another world out of reach, and in a way, as short as our time had been together, I felt like I knew him more than I’d ever known her.
I wanted to ask her so many questions. To demand her to confess whether she knew the true reason Cronus had banished my father, and how she’d kept the truth of his identity from me for so many years. Most of all, if she did know everything, I wanted to ask how she ever could have deigned to marry me off to the treasonous god’s son.
All those questions were on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed them. Even if she told me the truth, as unlikely as that was, I wasn’t sure I was ready to handle it.
“I’m fine,” I said, realizing my voice was hoarse.
She snatched another bottle of water and offered it to me as the other parents of the newly awakened contestants came backstage to greet their children. I took a sip and found myself wishing it was vodka rather than water. I could use a drink if I was going to get through her visit without losing my mind.
“That was incredible,” she said in a tone of wonder. “I didn’t think there was even a chance, but when you made it to the final rounds…”
